In this tutorial you will:

• Clarify the implicit and explicit roles of theory in research, design, and strategy
• Learn a method for collective sensemaking with interdisciplinary teams and non-experts
• Use theory to make insights actionable and scale beyond a single project
• Facilitate meaningful material interaction that enables stakeholders to realize the full potential of insights and new opportunities

Sometimes sidelined as esoteric thinking that bogs down action, theory is always in action when we do and use research. If we don’t engage theory intentionally, it remains an unexamined actor in our work, limiting what we can know and how design, product, and strategy teams can use and scale our insights.

Making theory accessible to non-experts makes insights deeper and more actionable, durable, and scalable. It empowers both researchers and stakeholders to realize the full potential of research and surface opportunities beyond the tactical application of data to a specific project.

In this tutorial you’ll learn to use theory instruments – tangible, collaborative artifacts – as a method for facilitating teamwork with cross-functional and interdisciplinary teams. Together, we will translate the analytical work we undertake with theory into material interactions that engage non-experts in collective sensemaking processes. We will start with core theory from design anthropology, then extend the method to concepts and key challenges that participants identify in their sectors, including technical fields like AI, robotics, and digital infrastructure.

Who Will Benefit from This Tutorial?

This tutorial will benefit practitioners in industry and service sectors who want to make their insights more actionable by bringing teams and stakeholders into the sensemaking process. It is helpful for participants to have engaged with some area of social theory, either in their current work or in a past course of study in any discipline.

Assignments

Participants will be asked to do a brief reflection prior to the session.

Instructors

Jessica Sorenson is a tech anthropologist and postdoctoral researcher at Aarhus University. She specializes in using material interaction to bridge epistemological gaps between the technical and the social sciences. Jessica holds a PhD in design and IT communication, and has worked with industry partners in developing and implementing robots, AI, and health technologies.

Mette Kjærsgaard is a design anthropologist and associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark. She specializes in combining methods and perspectives from anthropology and design to address issues of socio-material change. Mette has worked with design anthropology in industrial as well as academic contexts for more than twenty years.